What to Do With a Second Home in Cornwall Over Winter: A Practical Checklist

There’s a point towards the end of summer when you suddenly notice Cornwall changing.

The roads get a little quieter. The evenings feel cooler. You reach for a jumper on a dog walk and start thinking that lighting the fire might actually be quite nice.

I love this time of year.

I’m never quite ready to say goodbye to summer, but there’s something lovely about Cornwall settling back into itself again.

If you have a second home here, though, autumn also brings a few practical things to think about. Especially if your house is going to be empty for a few weeks – or perhaps longer – over winter.

Cornish weather is part of what makes this place what it is. But wind coming straight off the Atlantic, salty air and several days of sideways rain can find the little weaknesses in a house surprisingly quickly.

So this isn’t meant to be an enormous winter maintenance list.

Just a few things I’d want to know were taken care of if it were my home.

Have a little walk around outside

Before you leave, make a cup of tea and have a wander around.

Look at the roof if you can see it. Check the gutters, gates and fences. Have a look at the shed and anything tucked down the side of the house.

Garden furniture, pots and other things that happily sit outside all summer might be better moved somewhere sheltered.

It’s often the really small things that cause trouble once the wind gets up.

A gate that’s slightly loose in September can become a very different gate after its first proper Cornish storm.

Give the gutters some attention

Not the most exciting job on this list, admittedly.

But autumn leaves, moss and general Cornish debris have a habit of ending up exactly where you don’t want them.

Keeping gutters, drains and downpipes clear helps rainwater go where it should rather than finding its own creative route down the side of the house.

If there are lots of trees around your property, they’re worth checking more than once through autumn and winter.

Let the house breathe

An empty house can begin to feel like an empty house surprisingly quickly.

Rooms that stay shut up for weeks can become musty, particularly in Cornwall where damp and moisture are just part of coastal life.

A little fresh air makes such a difference.

How you manage that will depend on your property, of course. Trickle vents, a little background warmth or simply having somebody open the house up occasionally can all help.

There’s something reassuring about walking into a house that has been aired.

It immediately feels cared for.

Don't forget about the heating

It’s tempting to turn everything off when you’re leaving a house empty, but winter plumbing might have other ideas.

It’s worth making sure the boiler and heating are happy before the colder weather arrives, and thinking about frost protection and the right background temperature for your particular property.

Every house is different, so take proper advice where you need it.

Mostly, you just don’t want the first sign of a problem to be when you arrive for Christmas with a car full of bags and discover the house is freezing.

Give the garden a little love too

I think gardens are very good at reminding us that they don’t particularly care about our plans.

They just keep growing.

Autumn might mean moving pots somewhere sheltered, tidying hedges, clearing leaves or keeping an eye on branches and fences after strong winds.

You don’t necessarily need a perfectly manicured garden through winter.

Just one that’s being quietly watched.

Make it feel as though somebody is around

If a home is empty for longer periods, little signs of life are helpful.

Lights on timers are useful. So is making sure post isn’t building up behind the door.

But there’s also something different about a house that somebody actually visits.

Opening the curtains. Watering a plant. Picking up the post. Walking through the rooms. Noticing that something doesn’t look quite right.

All very ordinary things.

Which is rather the point.

After a storm, have someone take a look

This is probably one of the biggest reasons I started thinking about home care.

We get some fairly impressive weather in Cornwall.

If you’re a few hundred miles away and see North Cornwall under a weather warning, it’s not much fun wondering whether everything is all right at the house.

Most of the time, of course, it is.

But having somebody nearby who can pop over afterwards, check the outside, walk through the rooms and make sure everything is as it should be can bring a lot of peace of mind.

And if something has happened, finding it quickly usually makes life much easier.

Keep good local people close

A good plumber, electrician, gardener or general tradesperson is worth knowing wherever you live.

Perhaps even more so when your home is somewhere you don’t live all the time.

Keep their numbers somewhere easy to find.

And if someone local has access to your property, they can let tradespeople in or keep an eye on a job for you too.

It saves making a journey to Cornwall purely to open a front door.

Although there are worse reasons to come to Cornwall.

Think about coming home, too

Looking after an empty house isn’t only about preventing things from going wrong.

There’s the nicer end of it as well.

Arriving.

The heating on. Rooms aired. Plants alive and well. The garden looking cared for. Perhaps a few essentials waiting in the kitchen.

Opening the door and feeling immediately that you’re home.

I think that matters.

A little help while you're away

This is really where my Coastal Home & Garden Care came from.

Living here, I know there are lots of second homes around Newquay, St Mawgan and the surrounding parts of North Cornwall where the owners simply can’t be here all the time.

I also know how much trust is involved in asking somebody to look after your home.

So I want to keep it small and personal.

I’m putting out a few feelers for this autumn and winter for anyone who might like a local person to quietly keep an eye on things while they’re away.

That could simply mean regular visits and a walk around the house and garden. Or airing rooms, watering plants, checking things after bad weather, meeting a tradesperson or getting the house ready for your return.

Whatever actually helps.

If you have a second home in North Cornwall and think this might be useful, you’re very welcome to send me a message.

We can have a chat and see if it feels like a good fit.

No pressure at all.

Winter in Cornwall can be wild, wet and occasionally a little ridiculous.

But it’s also rather beautiful.

And it’s nice knowing somebody is keeping an eye on home while you’re not here.

Zoe x 🩶